Gotham City Chronicles
by individuall88
Summary: Sequel to SCC. BoPXSmallville crossover. Lois goes to Gotham to investigate the mysterious disappearance of an old friend. But is everything what it seems? Bit of Clois.
1. Old Friends

**A/N:** OK. Here it is the sequel to SCC..Kelly and I are really excited we hope you like it! I wrote this chapter!

Enjoy!

**Prologue**

A fifteen-year-old Lois Lane leaned casually on the rail of the balcony. She was not only completely and utterly bored, but she also extremely uncomfortable in her itchy black dress that made her look like an Amish woman.

She sighed and pulled out a pack of camels from her purse. Her father was off cavorting with important clients in some secret meeting room, so she was safe.

"Need a light?" A deep smooth voice asked her. Lois rolled her eyes.

_Great another one,_ Lois thought bitterly.

For the entire night she had been getting hit on by stuck up bratty rich kids who thought flaunting their money would make her automatically drop to her knees.

But before she could tell this new Casanova to screw off, a flame swiftly appeared in front of her face. Well, since he's offering, She put the cigarette to her lips and inhaled quickly.

"Thanks-" she said finally turning around to face the stranger purposely blowing smoke in his face.

Oh, my!

He was tall and broad shouldered with dark hair and eyes and a strong handsome face. He looked like he was only a few years older than her, eighteen or nineteen maybe.

"Bruce Wayne," He acknowledged extending his hand.

"Lois Lane," She shook his hand politely, but firmly.

He smiled. "So you're Lois Lane, huh?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Did you really steal a tank last year?" He asked taking a swig from his drink.

She smirked, "Not single handedly."

He chuckled.

"So Mr. boy billionaire what brings you out here with the nicotine addicts?" She said taking a long languid drag from her camel.

He shrugged. "These kinds of events aren't really my thing and when I saw you out here all alone well-" he trailed off smiling warmly at her.

"Down boy." She shook her head at him.

He couldn't keep the amused expression off his face. " You don't look like your having a very good time." He observed.

"These aren't really my kind of thing either." She confessed, "And if I don't get out of this dress soon I'm going go insane!"

Bruce gave her a look.

"That's not what I meant!" She snapped realizing her innuendo. "It's just very-uncomfortable." She finished awkwardly.

"I see," he said grinning. "Have you been to Gotham before?"

"Once, when I was about three." She answered.

"I don't want to be too forward Ms. Lane, but would like me to show you around the city tomorrow?"

Lois scrutinized him through narrow eyes. Did he really think she was that naïve?

"Strictly as acquaintances, of course." He quickly amended guessing her thoughts.

She gave him a skeptical look.

"As lovely as you are Ms. Lane, and even though you seem years older than you actually are, you're still well- jail bait."

Lois laughed. "All right." She agreed after a long second.

He beamed back at her. "I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." He quoted.

"Casablanca? Really?" She said shaking her head.

"We can work on my pop culture references." He suggested.

"Definitely," Lois agreed "But first can you find me something to wear that doesn't make me look like a nun?"

**********

_Nine years later…._

**Chapter 1**

**Old friends**

Something wasn't right. She could feel it in her gut. It had been a couple of weeks; in fact she had still been Star City, when he last emailed her.

Not that that was weird. She had been swapping emails/phone calls/text messages with Bruce for almost ten years on no real schedule. And of course, their friendship hit a rough patch a few years ago when she had first come to Smallville. And he was busy with his own life, traveling the world, trying to find himself or something like that. But a few years ago he had texted her, it was right after her 'Green Arrow Bandit' stories had hit the newsstands.

Read your article. Looks like you finally found your niche Lane.

Followed by a few weeks later,

_Please tell me you are not dating Oliver Queen._

And just like that they picked up where they left off. It was easy.

No one, not even Chloe knew about her friendship with the playboy Gotham Billionaire. And Bruce wanted to keep it that way. It had been necessary when she was younger,

"They'll never believe you're a girl and you're just my friend," he had told her. "And with you being a minor? The press would eat us both alive. I'm used to it, but I'm not going to throw you to the lions."

Now, it was just out of habit.

Lois sighed sitting at her desk. He was probably just busy. He did have a multi-billion dollar company to run. She was just being paranoid.

Still, the reporter couldn't seem to completely shake the troubled feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Lois?" The woman in question jumped in her seat.

"God, Smallville are you trying to give me a heart attack? You can't sneak up on a girl like that!" She exclaimed turning her head to look up at him.

He looked like he was about to have a panic attack or something.

"So the mob, huh?" He asked throwing the newspaper down on top of her keyboard.

Lois groaned. Was he really bringing that up? She hadn't exactly been forth coming to Clark about her little stint in Star City. It had only been a little more than a week since she came home. And her story, which had gone national, had taken a little bit longer to get through the presses. It finally hit the pavement this morning.

"Yep," she said simply. "The mob." What was he expecting her to say?

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't ask." She replied shortly. Which granted he hadn't.

"Lois!" His voice held a warning in it. Oh, yeah she was shaking in her heels.

"What?" She demanded spinning around in her chair to face him.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!" he ranted. His face softened, "Lois, why didn't you call me?"

"And what would you have done?" She asked. "Hopped on the next plane and-" she trailed off waiting for his explanation.

He had no answer for her.

"Besides I had plenty of back up." She assured him. He really was worried about her.

"Look, I know you can take care of yourself I just wish you wouldn't you know-"

"Break into a mob head quarters?" She finished smiling.

"It would be a start." He muttered playfully.

They locked eyes for a moment too long.

Lois was the first to break away.

"So-"

"Police say they have no leads on the kidnapping-" The TV screen in the bullpen was suddenly blaring, interrupting Clark's sentence.

Both reporters turned their attention to the newscast. This had to be something big.

"Billionaire Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Industries, was last seen-"

Lois leaped from her chair. "What?" She pushed her way to the front of the crowd staring at the television in disbelief.

Clark was hot on her heels, ("Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry-")

No!

Lois flew up the stairs to and burst into Tess's office.

"The Bruce Wayne kidnapping. I want to cover it."

**********

Tess had given her permission to go to Gotham. However, she told Lois it wasn't going to be on the 'Planet's dime.' She had to find her own way.

No problem.

She'd just call Ollie-

Oh, right. He no longer had a jet.

OK. Maybe The general could-

That was a no go. Her father was still livid about that time when she was seventeen and 'borrowed' a base helicopter without permission. It wasn't like she didn't have her pilot's license at the time.

And the next flight didn't leave until tomorrow afternoon. She needed to go tonight- as soon as possible.

Hmmm…Lois dug through her purse and pulled out a small white card with a number on it.

She dialed. "Hey Babs, I need a favor."

**********

When Lois explained her situation to Barbara carefully. Meaning she may have left out a few key details.

She told her new friend she needed to a ride to Gotham for an assignment. She didn't mention anything about Bruce. She had been very vague on the specifics. But in the end Oracle had agreed.

Someone named, Zinda was picking her up on the roof of the Daily Planet in three hours.

God, she'd only been home what? A week and she was already heading back out on the road.

She was stuffing clothing into her bag, when Clark barged into her apartment.

"Lois? What the Hell is going on?"

"I'm going to Gotham to cover the Bruce Wayne story." She said, "Hand me that red shirt, will you?"

Clark blindly grabbed the first item of Clothing next to him. He was just about to hand it to her when he noticed, "Hey, this is my shirt!"

She snatched the item out of his hands and stuffed it into her suitcase "mine now."

"Lois I mean it! You completely freaked out at the planet? Do you know Bruce Wayne, or something?"

Lois bit her lip.

"We've met a few times. He donates a lot of money to government funds." She explained dismissively.

"So this is personal?"

"Sort of." Lois said vaguely grabbing her favorite blouse and skirt.

"So, you're leaving tonight?" He sounded a bit upset.

Lois stopped packing and looked up into his big round blue-green puppy dog eyes.

"Clark," She put a hand on his chest, "I have to go."

"Will you at least call this time?"

"Will you answer?" she retorted quickly.

"Lois!"

"Yes. I promise I'll call. Write. Hell, Smallville I'll even send you smoke signals if it will make you happy. OK?"

"Every day."

"What?"

"Every day." He repeated, "Promise me."

Lois furrowed her brows. Clark was being a bit too over protective. Even for him.

"Look, 'Macho man' you're not my father. I'll check in when I check in." She turned on her heel and finished packing.

She heard Clark's heavy sigh behind her.

"Just be careful." He muttered before leaving.

"Always." She replied, but he was already gone.

**********

Lois was waiting on the DP roof fifteen minutes early. Clark had of course insisted on helping her with her bags. Lois let him. He also insisted on waiting for this "Zinda" person with her.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Lois said quietly.

"I know."

Silence.

Lois started tapping her heel out of annoyance.

"Would you just say it?" She exclaimed turning to him.

"Say what?" Clark asked curiously.

"What ever it is you want to say, because this whole silent passive aggressive thing really isn't attractive!"

Clark sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier at the apartment. You were right I was- out of line. I just-" he trailed off trying to find the right words.

"What?" she demanded.

"Worry." He finished.

"Like an old wash woman." She agreed.

Clark snorted.

"But you still love me, right?" He teased.

Lois pretended to think about it for a minute.

"You have your moments, I suppose." She said as nonchalantly as possible.

Clark was about to respond, but a loud Thwacking noise cut him short.

Lois watched as the chopper hovered a few feet above the landing.

"Come on Duchess! I ain't got all day!" A lively woman with an old-fashioned bobbed hair cut called to her from inside the helicopter.

Lois turned to her Clark. "Bye."

"Bye."

Before she could change her mind she put her arms around his shoulders and gave him, what was supposed to be a quick squeeze. But Clark wrapped his arms around her waist and held her for a minute.

Lois pulled away from him and smiled before picking up her bags. She threw her luggage into the back and climbed in the front seat of the chopper.

"Is that your fella?" The woman Lois assumed was Zinda asked once she put on her headset. "He's a real Sheik!" She giggled.

"Sheik?" Lois gave her a puzzled look.

"You know, keen?" The woman amended.

"Right." Lois responded slowly still confused. "No. He's not mine. I mean we're not together, like that."

Zinda gave her a look. "Mmm-hmmm. But you a carry a torch for him, dontcha?"

"Just fly the damn chopper!" Lois grumbled.

**A/N:** Please Review! Comments=Love

*Sheik: 1940's term meaning a man who has sex appeal.


	2. Welcome to Gotham

**A/N: **Chapter by the AMAZING Kelly!

**Chapter 2**

**Welcome to Gotham**

Zinda chattered away for the entire plane ride to Gotham. Lois didn't usually like uncomfortable silences, but today she would have preferred it. She needed time to gather her thoughts, time to organize a plan of action.

Right now, she had no idea what to do when she landed in Gotham. She had no leads as she'd basically run off half-cocked on hearing the news.

The cab ride with Zinda was more of the same, conversation-wise. Zinda's words ran a mile a minute and Lois gave non-committal responses occasionally.

"You're a million miles away," Zinda said as they climbed out of the cab in front a of a gigantic clock tower. Lois looked up at it, and then over at her blonde companion.

"Sorry. It's just…"

"It's okay," Zinda said with a wave of her hand. She smiled broadly and patted Lois on the shoulder. "I'm sure your fella will come around. Just give him time."

"I'm not… I mean, he's not my fella. Trust me, that ship has sailed," Lois insisted.

She followed Zinda into the back of the building. Zinda punched in a code and a hidden door swung open to reveal an elevator. How very Oracle. Lois followed the pilot inside, and Zinda winked at her.

"Whatever you say. At any rate, you should have fun in Gotham. It's swell here."

The elevator sped upwards and then stopped just as suddenly. It dinged and Zinda rushed to enter a code into the button pad. The doors obliged and slid open to reveal an apartment.

Lois followed her through the normal-looking apartment. It was almost a let-down after the fact that they'd had to enter two different codes to get here in a hidden elevator. Then again, knowing Oracle, things weren't quite what they seemed.

Zinda walked directly to a bookshelf on the opposite end of the cozy living room and tipped out three books on three different shelves. Lois shook her head and a small smile spread across her lips as the bookshelf moved out of the way to reveal yet another door with a keypad.

"Oracle always says you can never be too careful," Zinda says.

Lois scoffed.

"Careful? I'd say Fort Knox is 'careful.' This place is so above and beyond careful."

The door swung open and she followed Zinda into a darkened hallway. As they neared the end of the hallway, she caught sight of various colored lights in a room beyond the hallway. She moved towards the lights, and stepped out of the hallway into a room filled with wall to wall computer screens. Bits of data scrolled on several of them, too fast to be read by human eyes. A few other screens featured maps of various cities with blinking dots. Yet another showed a birds eye view of the apartment they'd just been in, the elevator, and the tunnel.

Lois' eyes lowered to a redhead who sat in front of the screens, her hair illuminated by the lights. The redhead swiveled around and smiled.

"Lois," Barbara greeted her. "Welcome to Gotham."

Lois shifted her gaze from the screens back to Barbara.

"Thanks. Wow. I thought your Star City digs were loaded with technological goodies. This… just blows that away."

"Yeah, well, that's just my home away from home, so it's a lot more limited."

Lois gawked at her. She remembered a threat Barbara had made a few weeks ago- that if Lois revealed anything about Dinah and Helena's secret identity, Barbara would make her life hell. From the looks of the supercomputer attached to those screens, she could probably make a lot of people's lives hell if she wanted to.

"Good thing you're on our side," Lois murmured.

Zinda laughed.

"That's what I said too," she said. She looked at Barbara then. "I'm going skip out and go around the corner for a drink, unless you need me for anything else?"

Barbara shook her head.

"Not tonight, Zinda."

Zinda turned her attention to Lois and beamed.

"It was nice to meet you, Lois." Then Zinda leaned in close and whispered. "Don't stay too sore at him,OK toots? Men are stupid in their nature." She winked.

"OK?" Was all Lois could really to say to that.

The blonde disappeared back down the hallway and Lois turned to Barbara, an eyebrow raised.

"Zinda's time displaced," Barbara said by way of explanation. "It's a long story."

"She's what?" Lois exclaimed. She hadn't been expecting that.

"A few months back, there was a disturbance in time itself. And Zinda ended up here. We couldn't find a way to get her back to 1947, so instead we're helping her make the twenty-first century her home. She's helped us out quite a few times, and her flying skills are unparalleled."

"I'm sorry, you lost me at the whole 'time travel' thing," Lois said. "That's not possible."

Barbara shot Lois a skeptical look over her glasses.

"Trust me, a few days in Gotham and that's going to seem positively normal. Not that I don't mind the visit, but what are you doing here, Lois?"

Lois let the vexing subject of time travel drop for the time being. She had been vague on the phone, but she knew that Oracle would be a huge help to her.

"I'm here to find out who kidnapped Bruce Wayne."

Barbara's gaze flickered downwards for a split-second at the mention of Bruce. Before Lois could question it, she returned to meet her eyes.

"Trust me when I say this Lois. You don't want to get involved with that."

"Well, it's too late. I'm already involved. Bruce is a friend and I'm not going to leave a friend hanging out to dry."

Barbara sighed.

"Lois, you really haven't been here long enough to realize this, but there's a lot of danger in Gotham that's too risky for civilians. This is one of those dangers."

"That's funny. I'm not too 'civilian' to break into a mob hideout, but suddenly now I'm not good enough to go after a kidnapper?"

"It's not that, Lois. It's just…"

"It's just nothing. Bruce is my friend and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure he's safe. You can either help me or not."

Barbara turned her back on Lois and typed on the keyboard.

"You've got a reservation at the Ritz Gotham on me tonight. Tomorrow morning, Zinda's going to pick you up and fly you back to Metropolis. Don't worry about Bruce… my team's got it covered."

"I'm not a member of your team, Barbara. You can't tell me what to do or not do. I will find Bruce, whether you're going to help me or not."

Lois turned and stalked out of the hallway. She stopped as she reached the elevator and stared at the control panel. She didn't know the code and apparently a code was needed to leave as well as to enter.

The door slid open, and she exhaled and looked around. She couldn't see the cameras, but no doubt Oracle was watching.

She made it out onto the street and scanned the road for any sign of a yellow cab. A few cars sped by, but no taxis.

"Great. Just great," Lois muttered. She turned in each direction, and then decided to walk. She needed to blow off some steam anyway.

"Psst," a voice hissed from a nearby alley. Lois sped up, but a pair of footsteps rushed her from behind. An electric shock surged through her as arms gripped her. She shook from the pain and then went rigid. Her assaulter dragged her backwards.

Lois struggled to gain control of her limbs, but to no avail. Two more men besides the one who had just snatched her leered down at her.

She should have called a taxi. She should have been paying better attention. She should have been on her guard. She was a black belt, for christ's sake. What was wrong with her?

One of the men pulled out a knife and advanced on her.

So this was how she was going to die. Murdered because of her own stupidity and momentary lack of street smarts. That was great. Just a fitting end to the career of Lois Lane, intrepid reporter.

Something metal whizzed past her ear and collided with the first of the thugs, and then the second. They both dropped to their knees, and then Lois felt the hold on her loosen. She started to crumble as she still hadn't regained control of her body, but something caught her. The third thug flew past her and collided with the brick wall that lined the alley.

What just happened?

Now a pair of arms scooped her up and Lois had the chance to look at her savior. A part of her expected to see red and blue, but there was only thick black Kevlar. A terrifying face leered down at her, masked in black with pointed ears.

"Lois," a gravelly voice growled just before she felt the sensation of soaring upwards and passed out.

**TBC**

******

**A/N:** OK. Please tell us what you think! Reviews=Love!


	3. Suspicions

**A/N: **This is my chapter. Enjoy.

**Chapter 3**

**Suspicions  
**

Lois woke up feeling drowsy and a bit dazed. She sat up on the bed she was on and held her hand against her forehead. She needed aspirin. She looked down and noticed the overly floral pattern on her bedspread.

Wait a minute.

That wasn't her bedspread. Where the Hell was she! Lois frantically observed her surroundings. This wasn't her room. She wasn't in her apartment-

She was in a hotel room at the Ritz. How had she gotten here? Suddenly, it all came back to her in a wave of information- the kidnapping, Bruce, Gotham, The man in black.

The man in black who knew her name, the man in black who acted surprised to see her.

And then she-fainted? Seriously?

Lois rolled out of bed thoroughly annoyed with herself. She didn't faint. She'd never fainted in her entire life and she had chosen that crucial moment to start?

The miffed brunette took a short shower and changed clothes. Somehow, mysteriously all of her bags were still packed waiting for her by the door. She knew it was a sign clearly telling her get out of dodge. But she was far too curious to know why these people wanted to run her out of town so bad.

Wasn't it just a week ago in Star City, she had been begged to stay and help bring down a mob boss? Hadn't Oracle deemed her experienced enough to single handedly break into said mob's headquarters and rescue two comrades? And now these same people who were vying for her aid, were now trying to shove her out of the way.

Well, Lois Lane refused to be shoved.

Flipping open her cell phone, Lois quickly typed in a memorized ten-digit number. She didn't keep this particular contact in her phonebook for precautionary reasons.

It rang three times before he finally picked up.

"Hello?" Came a thick British accent.

"Hey Alfred, it's Lois. Lois Lane."

********

It had been several years since Lois had been to the Wayne Manor. She remembered because she visited Bruce just a few weeks before the news of Chloe's death reached her.

As the limo pulled into the long twisted driveway, Lois realized it was much bigger and more lavish that she remembered. Bruce had definitely added on a few modifications over the years.

Alfred opened her door as soon as the car came to a complete stop. She smiled at him. "Thanks."

"It's been far too long Ms. Lane." He beamed at her. Lois pulled him into a short hug and kissed his cheek affectionately.

"I've missed you, Alfred." She said. "And call me Lois." She'd been asking him to call her by her first name for, years. He always ignored the request.

"Come, Ms. Lane let me show to your room." Lois checked out of the Ritz soon after she made the call to Alfred. She knew Babs would be watching her and she couldn't stay there. And there wasn't any place in the city safer than the Wayne Manor.

"Alfred" Lois started. "You must know why I'm here." She said as they entered the main hall. The butler sighed and turned to her.

"Yes. Mr. Wayne's kidnapping was a shock to everyone." He replied solemnly. Lois noticed he didn't seem too shaken up about it. Alfred had taken care of Bruce since he was eight years old. Shouldn't he be a little more-upset?

"Do you have any idea who could've taken him?" Lois asked.

Alfred nodded. Lois watched as he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and smoothed it out.

"_The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God-a phrase, which, if it means anything, means just that-and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end"_

Lois furrowed her brows in confusion "A passage from _The Great Gatsby_?"

Alfred bent down and picked up a newspaper on the coffee table. "He's called 'The novelist kidnapper'" Alfred handed her the paper. "He focuses mainly on the wealthy. And he always leaves a passage from some famous literature when he kidnaps someone. His calling card, so to speak."

Lois read the article carefully. Apparently, this guy was a few French fries short of a Happy Meal, he terrorized his victims, and bound them with duct tape and blindfolded them. He had yet to kill anyone, though. But he had also yet to not receive a ransom.

Something wasn't sitting right with the reporter. The police said he focuses mostly on the upper middle class. Wealthy suburban homes. And his M.O. was usually children or women. His focus was wealthy men with families. He felt scorned by society and wanted to seek revenge on the rich.

Lois picked up the newspaper from yesterday. "Novelist kidnapper nabs boy billionaire' the headline read. Lois skimmed the article. According to it, the Novelist had snuck into the mansion in the early hours of the morning, sedated and dragged Bruce's body to some undisclosed location. The police had no leads. No suspects. But the kidnapper had left a passage from the Great Gatsby. So naturally they assumed the Novelist struck again. And struck big.

"Alfred? Isn't that piece of paper evidence? Why do you have it?"

The butler cleared his throat. "I'd forgotten how insatiably curious you were, Ms. Lane." He deflected.

"That still doesn't answer my question." Lois said.

"It's a copy." He answered.

Lois frowned in thought. This wasn't adding up at all.

What would compel this guy to go after Bruce Wayne? Why change his strategy all of a sudden? And more importantly why was she the only one who found this odd? The nation was in an uproar, but no one seemed to think that anything was amiss. The Novelist kidnapper who's known for taking small children and anorexic wives in order to cause families turmoil and to turn a profit, is suddenly going after a single more than capable man in his prime?

It didn't make sense. Why was she the only one who saw that?

First of all, how could this one person break into the Wayne Manor in the first place? Lois knew for a fact that this mansion was more secure than fort Knox. Bruce had back up security systems for his back up security systems. It was absurd to think that this amateur kidnapper, could waltz into the most secure place with in a hundred mile radius and take Bruce Wayne. And not only that, but Lois knew Bruce could defend himself. Hell, he'd taught her quite a few effective moves years ago. There was no way. Absolutely no way that one man, unless he was some kind of super powered being could take down Bruce.

Lois scanned the article again. _Police believe the 'Novelist' to be a man in his mid to late thirties. Average height and weight. Most likely a loner_ She snorted at the description. It was pretty generic. It meant the police had no leads on this guy.

Lois met Alfred's dark eyes. "Alfred, what's really going on?"

He feigned confusion. "What do you mean, Ms. Lane?"

"We both know that there is no way that this guy could've gotten in here. And we both know there is no way he could have taken Bruce. Not single handedly. So I'll ask you again, what's really going on?"

She saw something flicker in the butler's eyes. "Ms. Lane I suggest you leave the city and return to Metropolis first thing tomorrow morning."

"I'm getting that a lot, lately." She answered.

"Leave it alone, Ms. Lane." Alfred's warned.

"Last night." Lois pushed. "Last night some guy dressed in black saved me."

"The bat man." Alfred explained.

Lois almost laughed. "The bat man?"

"He's some crazed vigilante who dresses up in a bat costume and roams the streets of the city at night. Though I believe he's quite mad."

"Uh-huh." Lois answered. "He knew my name. He knew me."

There was a long silence.

"That's what I thought." Lois broke first.

"Ms. Lane, I'm begging you. Please go home."

"Alfred, you and I both know that's not going to happen."

And with that Lois turned on her heel and headed toward the door. She took out her cell phone and called for a taxi. She didn't know where she was going, but she needed to get more information on this 'batman' character.

********

The Gotham City Public Library was one of the oldest and largest establishments in the city. It was located in the middle of down town amongst the museum and the opera house and other landmarks.

And it was the perfect place for Lois to do a little research on this 'Batman.' She couldn't use her laptop, for fear that Babs was keeping tabs on her and there was no way she'd be able to override Bruce's computer, she wasn't Chloe. So the library was her best bet.

Lois marched up to the Librarian's desk this place was way too big for her to navigate by herself. "Excuse me," Lois asked the lanky man, "Where can I find the newspaper archives?"

He didn't even bother looking up from his monitor, "downstairs in the back."

"Thanks."

Lois started to leave, but turned around, "Where exactly is the elevator?"

The librarian sighed and Lois swore she saw him roll his eyes, but he still didn't look at her. "Back right corner," He sounded vexed.

Lois didn't bother thanking him, as she strolled toward the lifts. Jerk.

Lois scanned through the newspaper articles. Apparently, this 'batman' had only been on the scene for about two and a half years. And since he first made his appearance, the criminals in Gotham had all gone running scared, at night. the crime rate, though still high, had decreased significantly over the years.

Of course as Lois delved a little deeper into the articles she found, that his method of crime fighting wasn't as morally sound as the Blur's or Hell, even Ollie, he definitely an extremist. Lois wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She sighed back into her seat and thought hard. The only people she knew in Gotham were Bruce and Alfred. That was it. Sure, when she was a teen, Bruce took her to social events, but two to three other beautiful women always accompanied them, he had to keep up his playboy reputation, after all.

She was usually just another face in the crowd. Which is how she and Bruce preferred it. She couldn't think of a single person who would recognize her, solely by face. Of course, she knew some of her articles had gone national, but there was never a picture of her in the paper, just her name.

Lois put her face in her hands. She'd done enough research for one day and her eyes were beginning to hurt form staring at the computer screen for the last, however many hours.

She passed the librarian desk and thought about giving the guy the fingers, but his nose was still buried in his monitor so he probably wouldn't even notice.

Lois was surprised when she burst through the doors and the twilight air greeted her. She didn't think she'd spent that long at the Library, but apparently time flies when you're researching a vigilante.

Lois bit her lip. She should call a cab. It was dangerous to walk the street of Gotham at night, but if she called a cab her chances of running into her black suited savior were slim to none.

Lois cautiously made her way down the street. She wasn't going to be caught off guard this time; she was going to be ready. There was still a bit of sunlight left peaking out of the horizon, but it was still dark enough for the streetlamps to be on. Lois heard the distinct sound of two different sets of footsteps about twenty feet behind her.

Lois breathed and started walking a bit faster, just to test her theory. And as she predicted as she increased her speed so did the two figures behind her. Quickly assessing the situation, Lois started to run. The two assailants behind her also started to run.

Lois ducked into an alley and sped around, crouching low to the ground and putting her up her fists in a defense stance. She hoped Batboy made an appearance soon.

The two figures turned into the alley mouth and stopped. Lois stared at them, half relieved and half disappointed.

"Lois, what the hell are you still doing here?" Helena was first to speak.

"You were supposed to be on the first flight to Metropolis this morning! Barbara checked." Dinah cocked her eyebrow and glared.

Lois couldn't help smirking. "What can I say? Babs isn't the only one who has a few tricks up her sleeve."

**TBC**

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**A/N:** Please. Please. Please. **REVIEW!** Thanks!


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